Rocking My World Some More ! - plus a Rocking Tutorial !

So these little rocks are slowly changing my life, I think, one little smooth surface at a time... Sherry at Esprit d'art commented way back on one of my first posts about them that she thought they should go "world wide" and somehow, they have become part of a mini-campaign of love already. I sent some to Sherry to enjoy and to give away in T.O. where she lives. My mom requested 20 or so to give out in her world. I have also included them in little snail mail art gifts to a few friends in Blog land (really flat ones work best !). It has been so much fun to share the love, especially with such loving people as these !!!!

This Friday I am part of an open house at a local paper craft store (Talk Paper Scissors). I will be selling some of my bamboo tile necklaces (you can see some in the photo above), some felted soaps and some magnets I came up with after being inspired by a gift from the Stumbly Diva herself ! I decided to paint a pile of my rocks as well and offer them for 5 rocks for a dollar and include this little card about the intention behind them.

I want to continue the Rock My World love campaign and allow some others to feel how great it feels when they put out a little more love in the world, even in a super simple way. I will also take any money I make on the rocks and donate it somewhere where I know it will make a difference. (maybe like to jen lemen's request for help for her friend Odette).

I also thought I could give a little tutorial about how I make the rocks so you can do it for yourself if you want ! It is pretty easy but took a little trial and error to find out what worked best for me.

Rocking Tutorial
Step 1 - Rocks :
First find some smooth rocks. I like the small, flat ones myself. Mine come from the beach in Hampton, New Hampshire but if you don't have a beach near you, you could check the craft stores in their flower arranging section. I have seen beach stones there for placing in the bottoms of vases.

Step 2 - Paint :
I add some color to some of my stones with acrylic craft paint. Opaque colors work best on the rocks. Let your paint dry really well before you do the next step - I like several hours or even over night.

Step 3 - Writing the Messages
The next step is writing on the rocks. I used White Gelly Roll Sakura pens for most of my rocks after trying a few different types of pens. The Gelly Rolls work pretty well on the porous surface of the rocks though you make have to go over your words twice. The pens will get blocked up really quickly if your acrylic paint is at all damp and this ruins them. I also had success with DecoColor opaque paint pens but I find that even their extra fine tip is not quite fine enough for my tastes. They work really well on the bare rocks as well as on the dried painted ones, and would be great on rocks that are a little bigger.

Step 4 - Where to Find Messages
I come up with my messages from all over. I pick up inspirational books and look for short quotes that inspire. I check out titles on other blogs that inspire me and modify the words to make them my own. I think of what would make me feel good to hear. I think of words that would make my world a little bit gentler, a little more kind and a lot more understanding and I white them onto those little gems !

Step 5 - Sealing the Rocks
After each rock is inscribed, I coat them with a brush-on sealer - Mod-Podge in Gloss works well and have a shiny finish that looks like the rocks are wet which I love. You could probably use spray varnish if you want but it is a little messy for me.

Step 6 - Let the Love Go !
Hand out your little rock treasures ! You can do it anonymously or person to person. Both feel so great ! And giving it out will bring it back into your life ten-fold, believe me !!!!

FINALE - ROCK MY WORLD GIVEAWAY !
As a little finale to this post, I would like to offer to send a little package of 10 Rock My World rocks painted by me, to the first 3 people who send me a request. If you make a comment and include your email, I will email you for your snail mail address and have your little love package out to you a.s.a.p. !

Keep on Rockin, Baby !